


If We Were to Stay Like This

by RunaLiore



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Flustered Misaki, It goes about as you might expect, Kokoro gets dating tips for how to pretend to be in a relationship from Kaoru and Hina, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 15:12:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16266794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunaLiore/pseuds/RunaLiore
Summary: Even in her third year of high school, Misaki still had trouble dealing with Kokoro's wild ideas. While walking home from rehearsal one day, Kokoro suddenly asks Misaki to help her with a problem that's been troubling her and against her: She asks Misaki to pretend to be her girlfriend for an upcoming Tsurumaki charity event. It was a terrible plan and completely ridiculous, and against her better judgment, Misaki agrees.





	If We Were to Stay Like This

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone! It's been a while since I posted a fic, in part because of hurricane delays and in part because I've been working on an exchange fic for Femslash Exchange 2018 \o/ Now that I'm finished with all of that and things are relatively back to normal though, I'm back to working on my Bandori fics so please look forward to more of those in the near future!

Every inch of the Tsurumaki mansion ballroom glistened like a finely cut gem. That made sense, Misaki thought, as almost all of the decor was covered in gold and crystals and a dozen other things too expensive to even touch. The lights were soft and the din of the crowded room rose and fell in syncopated measures, but all Misaki could focus on was the inner curve of her left arm and the soft pressure of Kokoro’s hand. She watched Kokoro marching down the spiralling marble staircase ahead of them, her red dress fluttering with each step as she dragged Misaki along by the elbow, smiling the entire way. They finally stopped just above the final step, the room fell silent, and five hundred pairs of eyes turned to watch them both. Misaki wanted to scream, which she would have done hadn’t been completely breathless. Soon, one of Kokoro’s bodyguards stepped forward and took a slight bow.

“Ladies, Gentleman, and Honored guests of the evening, thank you for joining us here tonight. Please join me in welcoming our host, Tsurumaki Kokoro.”

A wave of applause crashed against Misaki’s ears and all she could think about was how well-timed and coordinated it all sounded. At least a hundred investors and community business partners were gathered around cocktail tables in the Tsurumaki’s ballroom, sipping champagne and eating a dozen different things that were so expensive Misaki had never even heard of them before. They were all gathered for the opening of Kokoro’s new Hello Smiling foundation–an idea Kokoro had to fund music programs in small schools across the country, and an idea she got, somehow, from one of their live shows. It wasn’t exactly how she imagined most charity foundations got started, though admittedly she had no idea one way or the other. 

However the audience felt about Kokoro’s business sense, though, they were more than jubilant. It almost felt as if rich people rehearsed clapping in their spare time so that they all fell on the same beats, nothing at all like the applause at CiRCLE or in any of the live venues Harohapi had played over the past year. Suddenly, Misaki wished she could disappear into the Michelle suit–at least then no one would be looking at her so directly.

As the room finally quieted again, Kokoro hopped down onto the floor at last and waved at her audience.

“Good Evening, everyone! Thank you so much for coming to the Hello Smiling Foundation ball! I hope we can come up with lots of ideas to bring happiness to everyone tonight!”

Two measures of applause followed before Kokoro could speak again.

“And tonight I’m really really excited because I get to introduce you all to someone who always has lots of great ideas for making me smile!”

_ Wait, she’s introducing me now!?  _ Misaki felt her heart skip two beats and her skin went cold, but she knew there was no way around it now. If she’d wanted to protest, she should have done it hours ago when she was trying on her tuxedo, or days ago when she and Kokoro came up with this plan in the first place. Now it was too late to turn back and all Misaki could do was smile sheepishly and pray it would be over soon. Kokoro pulled her in closer and Misaki couldn’t help but stare at the beaming grin on her face as she addressed the room. 

“Everyone, this is Misaki! She’s my Girlfriend!”

Another round of applause rose as Kokoro leaned over and kissed Misaki’s cheek. Misaki nearly died where she stood.

 

* * *

 

In the three years since Hello Happy World began, Misaki and Kokoro had gradually grown closer as the time they spent apart shrank until there was scarcely a week when Misaki didn’t see Kokoro each and every day. At some point, they began hanging out more casually, walking home together after school or going out for ice cream on Sundays or sometimes when Kokoro just showed up to pull Misaki onto a plane and fly to a tropical island for the day because… apparently that was a normal thing for Tsurumaki Kokoro. It was chaotic, but in a way it was nice; Kokoro enjoyed herself and Misaki enjoyed seeing Kokoro happy, especially when Kokoro went out of her way to hang out with Misaki by choice. Honestly, that was more than enough for Misaki… or at least she thought. There were times, of course, when she wondered how things might have gone differently if her disastrous attempts at asking Kokoro out hadn’t be so… disastrous. All things considered, though, Misaki was happy. Hanging out with Kokoro was enough, she thought. She remembered Misaki’s name and invited her to do things together that weren’t just about the band, and that was enough. 

Then, two weeks ago, Kokoro was walking home with Misaki after a rehearsal and blithely humming her idea for a new song while turning cartwheels in the street. MIsaki was trying to record her voice, as usual, but keeping up with Kokoro was a demanding past time, and in more ways than one. 

“Hey, Kokoro, wait...” Misaki braced her hands against her knees and panted, having just run the better part of a block. “That last part… what was the last part again?”

Kokoro paused at the corner of the sidewalk and blinked, looking back at Misaki and tilting her head.

“Oh, you mean the Boom! Hmmmm hm hm hm hmmmm pa ra ra ri hmmmm, and then we need confetti to fall right there, don’t you think?”

“Well, I’m not sure what to think yet but,” Misaki caught her breath and smiled wearily, “I think we can make something out of this.”

“That’s great!” Kokoro grinned and bounced in place. “Ok, now for the second verse!” 

“Ah, wait!” Misaki reached and touched Kokoro’s shoulder, hoping she would wait a moment longer before dashing away again. 

“C-could we walk together?” Misaki said, a bit shyly once she felt Kokoro’s shoulder under her palm, “I mean, it’ll be easier to record if we’re closer anyway.”

“Oh! What a good idea, Misaki.” Kokoro beamed and immediately linked arms with Misaki, pulling her along as she marched and hummed. It hadn’t been what Misaki expected, though she never complained. Usually, she would try to jot down ideas about the arrangement or the samples she might need to load up on her decks, but usually she wasn’t being dragged down the sidewalk so close to Kokoro, watching the light on her face as she skipped along and hummed. 

_ Ah, right. Good thing I’m recording this _ , Misaki thought, double-checking her phone and confirming that the recording was still up,  _ My brain’s not exactly working right now… well, I’ll just listen back and figure things out later. _

“Oh! Misaki!” Kokoro skidded to a stop and Misaki almost stumbled into her. “Can you write a part that has all of us making a big sound like guWAAAAAA all together?”

“Kokoro...I’m not really sure what kind of sound that is.”

Kokoro stretched her free hand up and reached out for the nearest star. “It’s a spaceship! We need the sound of a spaceship bringing everyone together in the next song!”

Misaki smiled, a bit wearily. “I don’t know how that makes any sense at all but… yeah, I think I can do that.”

“That’s great! Oh!” Kokoro’s face lit up again, “We should run together, Misaki! That way we’ll understand each other’s ideas even better!”

“Ah, wait, Kokoro–” 

Misaki felt her body lurch forward as Kokoro pulled her along, racing down the sidewalk while humming into the wind. There was no way they were going to get anything useful out of this and Misaki knew it. All of her spare attention was devoted to watching her feet and making sure she didn’t trip and fall on the concrete, and she was certain her phone wouldn’t catch a single note that Kokoro hummed over the sound of the wind rushing past them. 

Within a hundred meters Misaki was already out of breath, but Kokoro wasn’t even breaking a sweat. Kokoro started to name off different stars that she wanted to keep in the lyrics, all of them with names that Misaki barely recognized. Then, as they rounded a corner at full speed, Kokoro stopped suddenly and Misaki stumbled forward, immediately crashing into someone. Before she could even apologize, she felt a pair of hands gripping her shoulders and firmly setting her upright.

“Okusawa-sama, are you alright?”

Misaki looked up to find one of Kokoro’s bodyguards standing in front of her. Although Misaki didn’t know any of the suits by name, she recognized this woman immediately: She was at least a hundred and eighty centimeters tall, the sleeves of her jacket were always tight around her arms, and she had a huge scar across her right eye. She was incredibly nice whenever Misaki spoke to her, though that didn’t make her any less intimidating.

“Y-yes, sorry,” Misaki gave her a weak smile, “I’m fine.”

“Oh, hello, suit person!” Kokoro bounced up on her heels. “Are you out for a walk, too?”

The bodyguard shook her head. 

“Kokoro-sama, we’d like to discuss preparations for the foundation event next week.”

Kokoro tilted her head. “Oh, is that already so soon? Right now I'm writing music with Misaki though, can it wait?”

“I'm afraid not, Kokoro-sama.” The bodyguard pulled a small tablet from her jacket and held it open for Kokoro’s inspection. As far as Misaki could tell, the screen was full of a huge list of brand names.

“There have been changes to the guest list,” the bodyguard went on, “in particular, it appears that several investors will no longer be bringing their spouses on their guest tickets. Seven families have made arrangements to bring their children instead.”

Misaki was already lost. Whenever Kokoro started talking about her family’s business or other big events, it was like she flew away into a world that Misaki could barely understand. 

“That's wonderful!” Kokoro spread her arms out and grinned, “I'm so glad they're so excited about Hello Smiling!”

Kokoro kept on smiling, but her bodyguard was beginning to look grim.

“Unfortunately, Kokoro-sama,” the woman said, “It seems they are bringing their children with the intention of courting you during the event. We believe they may have the intention of courting you during the event.”

_ Wait, courting?  _ Misaki blinked.  _ Like, marriage courting!? _

She caught herself staring at Kokoro, her mind suddenly wandering to the thought of seeing her in a wedding gown. Her pulse started racing away from her and she shook her head out. Fortunately, it Kokoro didn't seem to notice. In fact, she looked troubled and almost lost in thought.

“Hmmmmm…” Kokoro hummed in a dull, flat tone as she frowned. She crossed her arms and stared at the ground. “That's not what this event is for though. If they spend all evening doing that we won't be able to talk to as many other people! Hmmm…”

Her bodyguard tucked the folio back into her jacket.

“Kokoro-sama, shall I remove them from the guest list?”

“No, that wouldn't be good! They should be able to learn about all the fun things we're doing too, but…” Kokoro squeezed her eyes shut, then she almost exploded with energy, throwing her arms out with a huge, shining smile.

“Oh! I have a great idea! Misaki!”

Misaki’s eyes widened–she hadn't expected to get involved in that sort of conversation and more importantly, she wasn't sure she was mentally prepared for it.  

“Y-yeah?” 

Kokoro smiled and took Misaki’s hands in her own, raising them up and swinging her arms back and forth.

“Misaki, can you help me with the Hello Smiling foundation ball next week?”

“I-” Misaki’s voice caught in her throat and she smiled, a bit awkwardly. She was already dreading Kokoro’ s suggestion, whatever it might be, but she already knew that whatever Kokoro had in mind, she'd end up going along with it in the end. Misaki sighed and nodded.

“Ok, what's your idea?”

 

* * *

 

“Okusawa-sama, if you could please raise your arms.”

Misaki grimaced and complied as Kokoro’s suits stretched measuring tapes across her arms and down her side. 

“Wait, don’t you already have my measurements?” Misaki asked, glancing around at the suits surrounding her, “from the amusement park opening? C-can’t we just go with those?”

The tallest bodyguard scribbled a few measurements onto her tablet and then glanced up at Misaki. 

“We apologize, Okusawa-sama. We’ll need a different set of measurements for your tuxedo.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. I guess a tuxedo would– Wait wait wait, hold on! That’s not the point!”

Misaki dropped her arms, her voice strained to the point of exasperation. All of the bodyguards around the room stopped in place and turned to stare at her, their leader setting her tablet down and giving Misaki her full attention. They were being patient, Misaki thought, but she still had trouble meeting their eyes. 

“I know I agreed to help, but I’m not sure what’s going on… ok, so, basically, there's people who will try to flirt with Kokoro at her new charity event,”

The leader of the suits nodded. “Yes.”

Misaki went on. “...Because they want to marry into the Tsurumaki family fortune?”

“Yes.”

“But Kokoro wants to spend the evening talking about the foundation work and getting more support for it, right?” Misaki bobbed her head, slowly piecing together what she thought might be Kokoro’s logic. “So… if I pretend to be her girlfriend, they’ll leave her alone and she can just talk to people like normal, right?”  _ Well, normal for Kokoro _ , Misaki thought.

The leader of the suits nodded solemnly. “Precisely, Okusawa-sama.”

“Ah, geez…” Misaki sighed, holding her arms back up and resigning herself to the rest of the measurements, “if it’s that much trouble can’t she just tell those people not to come?”

“We suggested as much,” one of the suits said, “but Kokoro-sama was insistent. She said that it would be the most fun, and she would feel reassured to have you there.”

The leader of the suits tapped several more times against her tablet. “If it is a problem–”

“No, it’s fine,” Misaki said, not entirely sure if she believed herself, “Kokoro already said she could manage if I didn’t want to, but–” Misaki sighed again. She already knew that she was going to go along with it, mostly because it was almost impossible to avoid getting caught up in Kokoro’s ridiculous ideas. Still, it was only  _ almost _ impossible… if she really insisted, Misaki knew that she could get out of it, and that’s what worried her the most–She didn’t want to get out of it. While the suits finished taking her measurements for the ball, Misaki realized that the reason she felt so anxious wasn’t because she felt weird about pretending to be Kokoro’s girlfriend… it was because she didn’t want it to only be for pretend. As the suits finished their work, Misaki hung her head and smiled wryly at the ground.

_ What am I even doing, honestly... _

 

* * *

 

Once Kokoro greeted the guests and the ceremonies began in earnest, Misaki spent the entire night at her side. Mostly, that was because Kokoro wouldn’t let go of her arm and she had a habit of sliding her hand down to hold Misaki’s fingers while she chatted with her guests. Somehow, even though she wasn’t wearing the Michelle suit and the room was cooler than an autumn day, Misaki was starting to sweat.

_ Is she doing this on purpose or is this part of the act!? Kokoro, please, my heart can’t take much more of this! _

“Ah, Tsurumaki-san!” An elderly woman at the nearest table pressed her palms together and smiled as the crow’s feet wrinkled around her eyes, “My name is Miyoko, I’m the teacher who contact you earlier this week. Thank you so much for inviting us here this evening. We were so at a loss when the city cut our program budgets, and I’m so grateful that you’ll be supporting our student orchestra.”

Kokoro was beaming so brightly Misaki couldn’t stop staring at her smile.

“Of course!” Kokoro said, “When I heard your school’s band program would have to close, that was too sad! Playing with Hello Happy World these past three years has made me realize, we can bring lots and lots of smiles to everyone with our concerts!” Kokoro spread her hands out, her fingers still intertwined with Misaki’s own, “But you know, even more than that, I realized that we weren’t just making smiles for all of the people we met. Sometimes, playing together in Hello Happy World was how we helped each other smile, too! Misaki helped me come up with the idea, though, so she deserves some of the recognition too!”

Misaki blinked and her eyes widened. 

“Eh!? My idea?”

“Of course!” Kokoro leaned over and kissed Misaki’s cheek for the fifth time that evening, nuzzling up against her afterwards. “Misaki does so much for Hello Happy World and she comes up with so many good ideas! She’s a wonderful girlfriend!”

Miyoko laughed and grinned at Misaki. “You two are quite close. You’re lucky to have such an upstanding girl at your side, Tsurumaki-san.”

“Aha, thanks,” Misaki felt her ears flush and she glanced aside. She thought to say something else, but her brain was so muddled and tangled up that all she could focus on was the feeling of Kokoro’s lips against her skin. By the time Misaki chased that thought from her mind, Kokoro was already pulling her off across the room.

“Wait, Kokoro,” Misaki pulled her back a bit, whispering closer than she intended, “About that just now, when you said I gave you the idea for the foundation… you didn’t mean that, did you?”

“Hm?” Kokoro tilted her head, “Of course I did. Whenever you look unhappy, Misaki, I really want to help you smile again more than anything! And then when I started thinking about that it gave me that idea: What if there are kids like us all over the country who can help their friends and classmates smile by playing in a band?”

“That’s…” Misaki squeezed Kokoro’s hand a bit tighter as she lost the grip on her composure, “kind of amazing, Kokoro.”

“It is!” Kokoro bounced up and then leaned her head against Misaki’s shoulder again, “And this is so much fun tonight! Thank you so much for coming with me, Misaki.”

Kokoro held her fingers gently and looked right into Misaki’s eyes, smiling so softly that Misaki thought her own heart was about to burst. She swallowed hard and shifted her eyes away.

“I-I think everyone’s pretty convinced, so we don’t have to be that cuddly all the time, Kokoro…” Misaki took a slow breath, trying to steady herself. Kokoro leaned in closer, slightly confused as she moved to meet Misaki’s eyes.

“Why not? This is really nice and a lot of fun, right?”

“I-I mean it is, but,” Misaki felt her lips quivering into the worst, most awkwardly forced smile ever, “M-maybe we should hold back a bit and–”

“Ah, Tsurumaki-san…” A tall, gaunt gentleman smiled down at Kokoro, a full glass of champagne in one hand and the other held behind his back, “Thank you again for your invitation. My son and I are having a marvelous time this evening.”

“Oh! Furukawa!” Kokoro waved to the man standing right in front of them. “Thanks for coming! I hope you’re both having a great time.”

Mr. Furukawa chuckled warmly, but Misaki couldn’t help but feel as if his smile was somehow cold.

“It is quite a remarkable accomplishment,” Mr. Furukawa said, gesturing to the room, “To think that you could apply the vast wealth of the Tsurumaki family to save all of the orchestra and band programs across Japan. I cannot help but wonder, however, how your foundation plans to become a profitable part of the Tsurumaki family portfolio. You’ve asked almost nothing of your investors and giving away funding grants so easily can’t possibly generate revenue.”

“That’s okay!” Kokoro smiled. “Hello Smiling isn’t supposed to make money, it’s supposed to make sure all the kids in all the schools in the country have a chance to smile!”

Mr. Furukawa grinned, chuckling lightly and, at least as far as Misaki thought, with a hint of spite.

“It is a marvelous idea and I commend you, Tsurumaki-san. It is only unfortunate that this foundation’s work is so far from being sustainable.”

Kokoro blinked. “It isn’t?”

“Well,” Mr. Furukawa grinned, his mustache bristling, “since you’re not bringing in revenue and your investments are a mere fraction of your spending, I can’t imagine that even the Tsurumaki family fortune could sustain such a project indefinitely. It is a fine effort though, truly your heart is in the right place, young lady.”

Kokoro opened her mouth to respond–that should have been the end of it, and Misaki knew she wasn’t equipped to navigate the world of these millionaire business folk, but in spite of all that and against her best judgment, she spoke up.

“Excuse me,” Misaki glared up at the old man, her fist clenched at her side, “but I don’t think you should be talking about how things will end when we’re just getting started. Kokoro’s putting a lot of thought into this and besides that, does it really matter if it doesn’t turn a profit? I know I don’t understand a lot about investments and foundations and things, but I know that Kokoro is the sort of person who will help people if she’s able to, even if it’s bad for the business portfolio or whatever. She’s a really amazing person, so please don’t talk down to her like that.”

Mr. Furukawa stared at Misaki, his eyes widening until he finally burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, forgive me, I apologize if I have appeared rude! Tsurumaki-san,” he turned to Kokoro and bowed slightly, “This is a wonderful event and I thank you again for your invitation. Now, if you will excuse me…”

Mr. Furukawa smiled sharply and hurried off, and the moment he was out of sight Misaki felt every nerve in her body collapse.

“Ah, I just did something awful, didn’t I? He’s totally going to–”

“Misaki! Thank you,” Kokoro leapt over and hugged Misaki suddenly, grinning wide, “I had no idea you felt that way.”

“I-I,” Misaki felt her heart begin to beat harder and harder against her ribs, “I mean, that’s only natural right? He was being a jerk, so I– ah! But that was probably bad for your business relations, or something… right? I… probably just messed something up.”

Kokoro shook her head. “I don’t think it’s a problem! Furukawa is always trying to talk about boring things and his smile’s always fake, so it’s hard for me to understand what he really means most of the time.”

Misaki relaxed a bit, though only slightly. “Y-yeah… Sorry I kind of overreacted. I didn’t realize you had to deal with people like that, though.”

“Only sometimes,” Kokoro said, “But I’m really glad you were here with me this time, Misaki!” 

Kokoro hugged Misaki again. Misaki smiled and her hands lingered along Kokoro’s back, and as Kokoro pulled away Misaki realized just how much she wanted to lean forward and kiss her. That thought alone made Misaki’s ears burn and she immediately pulled herself away.

“Anyway, where did you want to go next, Kokoro?”

Kokoro bounced up and took Misaki’s hand again. “All over! Come on, there’s so many more people to talk to!”

 

* * *

 

By a quarter till eleven, the ball was over and the ballroom itself was empty again. A small battalion of bodyguards rushed in and cleaned out every cocktail table, every empty champagne glass, and every stray business card that found its way onto the floor. That left Kokoro and Misaki alone, still wearing their party outfits as they danced in the dim light of a single chandelier. At first, Kokoro had danced alone and twirled around the room, still overflowing with excitement from the evening. She stopped suddenly in the middle of a turn, thinking for a moment and then rushing to grab Misaki’s hand.

“Misaki!” She’d shouted, her face bright and cheery, “I just realized we had a whole ball and we never got to dance! We have to fix that!”

_ Well, I don’t think it was supposed to be that kind of ball, _ Misaki smiled,  _ but we might as well. _

And so, despite her best efforts to avoid it, Misaki ended up with Kokoro, their faces close and their hands clasped together. It wasn’t easy–Kokoro could never stick to just one dance and she kept breaking step to do something ridiculous, always counting on Misaki to follow along and catch her or dip her or match her movements somehow. It was a lot of work and stressful beyond belief, and Misaki couldn’t help but smile the whole time. By the time Kokoro finally slowed down, Misaki was out of breath and her face was dripping with sweat.

“Ah… wait… Kokoro…” Misaki panted, “let’s take a break for a few minutes…”

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Kokoro nodded and took Misaki’s hand, leading her over to the ballroom steps, “I had another idea for a song while we were dancing and I wanted to tell you about it!”

As Misaki sat across the third step, Kokoro plopped herself down right beside her and leaned over onto her shoulder, still holding Misaki’s hand softly. Misaki was fairly certain that she was about to die from overheating.

“Kokoro, do you have to sit so close?” Misaki’s eyes shifted, though she didn’t let go of Kokoro’s hand. “We don’t have to pretend anymore since everyone’s gone, so…”

“Hm? But it’s so much fun!” Kokoro leaned over and nuzzled her head against Misaki’s shoulder. “I had no idea pretending to be dating could be so much fun! Oh! And I didn’t even get a chance to use all of the things I learned about for tonight!”

MIsaki felt her breath catch in her chest. “W-wait, what sort of things?”

Suddenly Kokoro’s hand swept across Misaki’s throat, a single finger lifting her chin as Kokoro stared down at her, so close that Misaki could feel the warmth coming off of her face.

“Misaki, you look so lovely tonight,” Kokoro said, her voice low and smooth. Misaki’s heart was beating so hard she thought it might bruise her chest, and then just when she was certain she was about to faint, Kokoro hopped back and smiled again.

“Kaoru told me about that! She said it’s… what was it…. ‘An incredibly fleeting way to appreciate cute girls’? I’m not sure I understand, but Kaoru told me about a lot of fun things like that!”

“Kaoru…” Misaki put a hand on her chest and tried to calm her breathing, “That explains a lot…”

“I asked Hina too,” Kokoro said, resting her head back against Misaki’s shoulder, “she told me all about the sorts of things she normally does with Aya and she gave me so many ideas!”

Misaki’s brain wanted to scream, especially since she’d seen how much Hina and Aya cuddled backstage before live shows, but Misaki was also exhausted. The entire night, she’d wanted to scream and run away and hide behind a curtain every time Kokoro kissed her cheek or held her hand or introduced her as ‘my girlfriend!’ and now, after hours of feeling like she was about to collapse, Misaki was finally feeling a bit more at ease. She wondered if it was just her exhaustion or if it was because feeling Kokoro’s head resting against her was just… so incredibly nice. She caught herself daydreaming about dancing with Kokoro again, holding her hand while they went for ice cream, maybe even going on a real date someday–Misaki stopped herself there. 

_ This is just pretend… _ She sighed quietly, almost laughing at herself,  _ Kokoro seems really happy though so I guess everything worked out. Ah, my heart can’t take this sort of thing very often. It’ll be nice to get back to regular chaotic band practice after this... _

“Hey, Misaki,” Kokoro said softly, stroking Misaki’s hand and leaning on her shoulder, “You looked like you were having so much fun tonight. It made me really glad.”

“Ah, I guess so,” Misaki laughed awkwardly, still keenly aware of the weight of Kokoro resting against her, “I hope I didn’t mess up too bad.”

“No, you did great! It was wonderful.” Kokoro yawned. “Oh, it’s already so late isn’t it? Everything went by so quickly.”

“Maybe for you!” Misaki smiled faintly as her feet began to ache, “I’m not really used to this sort of thing at all.”

“Misaki.”

“Hm?” Misaki looked aside and found Kokoro smiling, eyes closed as she leaned on Misaki’s shoulder.

“I had soooooo much fun tonight. Pretending to date is so much more fun than I ever thought it would be.”

“Ah, ahaha…” Misaki let out a weak laugh, “Y-yeah. Somehow, even though parts of it were kind of terrifying, I think I had a good time too.”

“Mm. Misaki.” Kokoro was starting to mumble, “We should keep pretending to date forever, that way we can have this much fun everyday and I can hold your hand all the time.”

“W-wait,” Misaki’s pulse raced away from her again, “but we were only doing this for the event right? I mean there’s no reason for us to keep pretending afterwards so– wait, Kokoro? Kokoro?”

Misaki waited, but Kokoro didn’t answer. She was sleeping soundly, smiling as she adjusted herself on the steps and buried her face against Misaki’s shoulder and neck. She yawned again, quiet and small as she wrapped her arms around Misaki and leaned against her with all her weight. Misaki watched for a moment and then shook her head.

“I swear…” Misaki said, smiling to herself, “sometimes I can’t keep up with you at all, Kokoro.”

As gently as she could, Misaki swept Kokoro’s bangs away and kissed her forehead lightly. She sat back and settled in to wait for the suits to come and carry Kokoro off to bed, and while she waited she watched Kokoro’s smiling face.

“Honestly,” Misaki said, softly under her breath, “I don’t think we have any reason to keep pretending…”


End file.
